We Asked, You Responded: When Did You Realize That Funerals Were Your Calling?

Whenever we tell people that we work in the funeral profession, we get the same grouping of surprised reactions… “That’s creepy!” “How did you get into that kind of unique job?!” “Uhh…that’s interesting…” *Slowly walks away.*

As funeral professionals, you’ve probably heard your own fair share of confused questions and surprised statements about working in such a unique profession. But those people just don’t get funeral service the way that you do. They don’t understand how good that “thank you” feels at the end of a long funeral service. Or how comforting it can be to know that you’ve made a difference in a family’s life.

Being able to ease a family’s burden, inspire them to celebrate life’s special moments, and help them heal is more than enough to excite you to get out of bed in the morning (and makes those 2 am death calls a lot easier to bare).

The truth is, it takes a special kind of person to do this job. And what funeral professionals do is much more than a career. It’s a calling. We applaud you for all of the passion and love that you bring to such an important profession.

The Passion That Fuels Us

One of the things we love most about funeral professionals is the lifelong passion and drive that has lead them to this calling. Many have always known that they were meant to encourage families during their time of need, and help them celebrate the most memorable moments of their loved one’s life. And we couldn’t wait to hear these inspiring stories.

Samuel-Holly Ashby: “My grandfather passed from leukemia and I was in the room with his 12 children, (Yes a lot!) in his last moments. All 12 kids had different opinions as to what they wanted for their father. I thought to myself, there has to an easier way for this to be done and not have family members bicker and fight on one of the most emotional and worst days of their lives. That’s when I found Precoa, in which we have the opportunity of partnering with leading funeral homes around the country and providing prearrangements for families to eliminate those difficult decisions both emotionally and financially! Truly great to work with people in this industry that care for their community!”

James Slone: “When I was in the 3rd grade after a friend of mine passed away and when we had career day a funeral home came in with a fake head and I was the only one that didn’t get scared I knew then I wanted to be in the business. Now that I own a trade service, I’m glad I didn’t become a director because being there for that family and giving them the reassurance that their loved one is in good hands means more to me than anything else.”

Rick Coffee Harrington: “I’m only on the 1st call side, but the very 1st call I did, a family member [threw] her arms around me, hugged me, and said a simple “thank you.” Never forgot that moment.”

Elder T. T. Flowers: “When I first started driving family cars (limos). Not like some of my colleagues, while they sat outside waiting for services to end, I’d be inside watching directors & attendants critiquing them in my mind, how I would do things differently to better serve families developed a passion in me to become a funeral director!!! I love it and to this day I enjoy serving my families with care compassion!!!.”

Mattie Rickman: “I have always been interested but when I worked my first funeral for a baby that only lived 24 hours I knew. I was freaking out that day, scared I wouldn’t be able to deal with seeing the baby or the family. When I saw the baby I realized that baby had more love in that 24 hours than many children have in their entire lives. He was never put down, he was sung to and talked to by the ones that loved him most. I knew I wanted to celebrate his short life. Then at the end of the service his father hugged me and thanked me. That feeling was not only amazing but a passion was ignited.”

Like many funeral professionals, passion is what has motivated and encouraged us here at funeralOne to create the best products in the world that focus on assisting and encouraging families. They are searching for answers, information and guidance, and we’re proud to have created the resources they are looking for that will give them comfort and ease when they click through your funeral home website. (And we’re excited to be able to offer those resources to funeral professionals through f1Connect, so they can share them with their own families!)

Is there one moment that sticks out in your mind as the very moment you realized that you belonged in the funeral profession? We want to hear about it! Be sure to share with us the moment you realized that funerals were your calling in the comments below!

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Jessie MacGregor - May 14th, 2015 at 11:15 am

When I saw a funeral coach for the first time, I was four years old. Once my mom explained what it was for, I knew that one day I wanted to have one. At six, I read a National Geographic article on Egyptian mummification and started replicating the process as best I could with my Barbie dolls. At fourteen, my grandmother passed away from lung cancer and upon viewing her thought to myself that there had to be a better way to prepare people so that they’d look like themselves. At sixteen, I finally was given the opportunity to see an embalming and was hooked. Attended CCMS at 18 and graduated with my Bachelor’s in Mortuary at 20 (had a bit of a hold up in school due to back surgery). I guess you could say that I have always been called to this and I feel so blessed that the Lord chose me for this profession/lifestyle. I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life.

Mrr - December 20th, 2015 at 3:41 pm

3. One when I was about 2 or 3. The other I was about 7 or 8. And the last one was a few weeks ago. It’s really frikaeng weird to see a dead body that you once saw alive. Funerals are always a horrible experience for me even though I wasn’t really close to the people in any of the funerals I’ve went to

@richardsonjan1 - February 22nd, 2016 at 11:01 am

Jessie: interesting – we were young and knew it would be our life calling. Not an easy road, no regrets.